This blog post explores the piano’s charm within classical music in detail—from the history of keyboard instruments to the piano’s structure and expressive power, and its utilization across various performance forms.
The piano is arguably the most familiar instrument to us and holds the greatest prominence in classical music. It can be played as a solo instrument by a single pianist, by two or four players on a single piano, and it also blends exceptionally well with other instruments. From piano trios and quintets to piano concertos performed with large orchestras, the music created by the piano is incredibly diverse. Despite its relatively short history compared to other instruments, why is the piano so widely loved?
Before answering this question, let’s briefly explore the classification of Western instruments. Western instruments can be broadly divided into string instruments that produce sound by vibrating strings, wind instruments that produce sound by blowing air into a tube, and percussion instruments that produce sound by striking an object with the hand or a stick. Each instrument group exhibits similar timbres and characteristics. You might wonder why keyboard instruments are absent from this classification. This is because the keyboard itself is not the source of sound; it is merely the means of producing sound. While the strings, tubes, and striking action are the sound sources in string, wind, and percussion instruments respectively, the keyboard in a keyboard instrument is simply the method for producing sound. The introduction of the keyboard thus plays a significant role in why the piano is so beloved.
Consider the ‘pipe organ’ as an example. The pipe organ is a representative keyboard instrument frequently used in large medieval churches. Simply put, it can be described as an ‘instrument combining keys and pipes’. Each key is connected to a corresponding pipe that produces a specific note; pressing the key triggers a series of processes that cause sound to resonate from the pipe. What advantages does playing a wind instrument via keys offer compared to playing a typical wind instrument?
The biggest difference lies in the ‘method of delivery’. Many people likely played the recorder during their school days and experienced how difficult it is to produce sounds spanning more than one octave with a single recorder. However, with the pipe organ structure, where multiple pipes are connected via keys, while it may not be portable like a recorder, each key can easily produce its assigned note. Think of each key as corresponding to one recorder. This allows for a wide range of notes and the creation of rich music.
Historically, the recorder, created before the flute, failed to secure a place in orchestras partly because its timbre didn’t blend well with other orchestral instruments. But the more significant reason was the recorder’s narrower octave range compared to the flute. While the flute can handle about three octaves, the recorder’s range is considerably smaller. Thus, keyboard instruments are advantageous for performance because they can cover a wide range.
Furthermore, keyboard instruments are easier for beginners to handle compared to other instruments. String instruments like the violin can produce unpleasant sounds depending on bowing technique, and wind instruments like the flute have a tricky process for producing sound, making it difficult for beginners to produce a proper sound within an hour. In contrast, the piano produces sound relatively easily. While a beginner’s ‘C’ note will differ from that of a world-class pianist, the piano remains an instrument accessible to beginners with relatively little burden.
However, pipe organs are not frequently played today. The first reason is their immense size. Pipe organs require space large enough to fill the walls of a large church. In other words, it cannot be carried around; it must be installed to be played. The second reason is that playing it required significant manpower. In the past, slaves manually pumped air into the pipes, making performance difficult and costly. While mechanical devices were introduced in modern times, it remains inconvenient compared to other keyboard instruments.
After that, the clavichord and harpsichord took the lead among keyboard instruments. Unlike the pipe organ, these instruments produce sound using strings. While easier and more convenient to play than the pipe organ, the clavichord suffered from insufficient volume, and the harpsichord lacked dynamic control. These instruments were primarily confined to indoor performances, with limited applicability on large stages.
The piano emerged as the instrument that overcame these shortcomings. The piano’s core innovation lies in its ‘action mechanism,’ which strikes the strings with hammers and transmits the force from the keys to the hammers. This mechanism enabled the piano to produce powerful volume and express a wide dynamic range, establishing it as an instrument well-suited for modern music performance.
The piano is an instrument that conveys sound through keys, produces sound via strings, and incorporates elements of percussion. This structural characteristic of the piano can be seen as the result of efforts to combine the strengths of various instruments to create better music. Thus, the piano captivates people’s hearts with its beautiful tone and diverse expressive power, from solo performances to concertos.
